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Scoop-and-Bake Dinner Rolls

By America's Test Kitchen

Published on November 11, 2011

Time

1 hour, plus 45 minutes rising

Yield

Makes 12

Scoop-and-Bake Dinner Rolls

Ingredients

2 ¼ cups (11¼ ounces/319 grams) all-purpose flour ¼ cup (1¾ ounces/50 grams) sugar 1 teaspoon salt 2 ¼ teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast 1 cup water, heated to 110 degrees6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened1 large egg

Before You Begin

In step 3, use an ice cream scoop to transfer the sticky batter to the muffin tin.

Instructions

  1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 200 degrees. Maintain temperature for 10 minutes, then turn off oven. Grease muffin tin.
  2. Whisk 1 1/4 cups flour, sugar, salt, and yeast in large bowl. Whisk in water, butter, and egg until very smooth, about 2 minutes. Add remaining flour and mix with rubber spatula until just combined. Cover bowl with greased plastic wrap and place in warm oven until batter has doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
  3. Remove batter from oven and heat oven to 375 degrees. Punch dough down. Scoop batter evenly into muffin tin. Cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until batter nearly reaches rims of muffin cups, about 15 minutes. Remove plastic and bake until rolls are golden, 14 to 18 minutes. Serve. (Rolls can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days.)
  4. Make Ahead: After being covered with greased plastic wrap in step 3, the batter can be refrigerated in the muffin tin for up to 24 hours. When ready to bake, let the batter sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before proceeding with the recipe.
Scoop-and-Bake Dinner Rolls

Scoop-and-Bake Dinner Rolls

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By America's Test Kitchen
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Time

1 hour, plus 45 minutes rising

Yield

Makes 12

Ingredients

2 ¼ cups (11¼ ounces/319 grams) all-purpose flour
¼ cup (1¾ ounces/50 grams) sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 ¼ teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 cup water, heated to 110 degrees
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

2 ¼ cups (11¼ ounces/319 grams) all-purpose flour
¼ cup (1¾ ounces/50 grams) sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 ¼ teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 cup water, heated to 110 degrees
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

2 ¼ cups (11¼ ounces/319 grams) all-purpose flour
¼ cup (1¾ ounces/50 grams) sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 ¼ teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 cup water, heated to 110 degrees
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg

Test Kitchen Techniques

Why This Recipe Works

After all the time spent on the Thanksgiving turkey, sides, and dessert, the last thing we want to do is make homemade dinner rolls. We wondered if there was a way to avoid all that mixing, kneading, rising, shaping, and baking—without resorting to a can of rolls. The ingredients for our Scoop-and-Bake Dinner Rolls recipe are stirred together, briefly allowed to rise in the same bowl, and scooped into a muffin tin without ever touching the counter—or your hands. The quick rise doesn’t give yeast time to mellow—the richness of butter helps temper the strong yeasty flavor. Beating the batter with a whisk gives our dinner rolls an extra lift, making them tall and light.

Before You Begin

In step 3, use an ice cream scoop to transfer the sticky batter to the muffin tin.

Instructions

  1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 200 degrees. Maintain temperature for 10 minutes, then turn off oven. Grease muffin tin.
  2. Whisk 1 1/4 cups flour, sugar, salt, and yeast in large bowl. Whisk in water, butter, and egg until very smooth, about 2 minutes. Add remaining flour and mix with rubber spatula until just combined. Cover bowl with greased plastic wrap and place in warm oven until batter has doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
  3. Remove batter from oven and heat oven to 375 degrees. Punch dough down. Scoop batter evenly into muffin tin. Cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until batter nearly reaches rims of muffin cups, about 15 minutes. Remove plastic and bake until rolls are golden, 14 to 18 minutes. Serve. (Rolls can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days.)
  4. Make Ahead: After being covered with greased plastic wrap in step 3, the batter can be refrigerated in the muffin tin for up to 24 hours. When ready to bake, let the batter sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before proceeding with the recipe.

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